ED raids row: TMC cries political vendetta, BJP accuses Mamata of obstructing probe

Kolkata: The TMC and the BJP on Thursday traded barbs over ED's raids at the premises of poll strategist I-PAC, with the ruling party in West Bengal alleging "political search" ahead of elections, while the saffron camp accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of repeatedly obstructing central agencies.

The war of words took place on a day when the Supreme Court described the ED's allegation that Banerjee caused "obstruction" in its probe as "very serious", and agreed to examine whether a state's law-enforcing agencies can interfere with any central agency's investigation into any serious offence.

TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said the party would not comment on the "technical legal aspects" of the case, leaving that to its senior counsel, but maintained that the ED action was politically motivated and timed with the approaching assembly polls in West Bengal.

"Our stand remains exactly the same. This case was registered in 2020. Five or six years have passed. What were they doing all these years? Were they asleep?" Ghosh said, questioning why the ED "suddenly woke up" just before elections.

Raising questions over the raid on the residence of I-PAC director Pratik Jain, Ghosh asked why no such action was taken earlier if the case was so serious. He pointed out that when the case was registered, election strategist Prashant Kishor was associated with the party, but his premises were never raided.

"Why Pratik Jain now? Because he is cooperating with our election campaign. He is a consultant involved in planning and structuring our election strategy. The party's campaign-related information, planning and data may be at his office or residence," Ghosh alleged.

Claiming misuse of central agencies, the TMC leader said the BJP was using the ED to "divert, access or disrupt" the party's campaign-related information.

"Our leader, the Tigress of Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, has firmly opposed this and is determined to protect the party and its information base," he said, asserting that the people of the state "understand everything".

"This is nothing but a political search. The public can see it clearly," Ghosh added.

The BJP hit back, with Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat accusing Banerjee of making "unacceptable and unforgivable" attempts to obstruct the functioning of central investigating agencies.

Shekhawat alleged that the chief minister personally rushed to the I-PAC office in Kolkata during the ED raid, and senior police officers had arrived at the spot even before her. This, the BJP leader claimed, amounted to deliberate obstruction during the operation.

"Political opposition and ideological differences are natural in a democracy. But attempting to undermine or dilute constitutional institutions created under the authority of the Constitution is unacceptable," Shekhawat said. "When such institutions are weakened, it is not just a violation of constitutional propriety but an assault on the very soul of India."

He said Banerjee's conduct during the I-PAC raid was not an isolated incident, recalling an earlier episode when the chief minister had gone to the residence of the then Kolkata Police Commissioner, now the DGP, during a CBI raid in February 2019.

"A sitting chief minister physically intervening to obstruct a central agency's investigation against a senior police officer was perhaps the first such instance in the country's history," Shekhawat, who was in Kolkata to attend a programme, claimed.

From that episode to Sandeshkhali and several other cases, the Union minister alleged, she had repeatedly tried to create roadblocks in the work of central investigating agencies, either directly or indirectly.

Shekhawat further alleged that large-scale corruption had taken place in West Bengal in various centrally funded schemes, and claimed that the state government had consistently attempted to obstruct or influence investigations into these cases.

"These acts are not only inexcusable but wholly unacceptable," he said.

The political slugfest unfolded against the backdrop of the Supreme Court staying the FIR filed in West Bengal against ED officials who raided the I-PAC office and the residence of its director, Pratik Jain, on January 8, and directed the state police to protect the CCTV footage of the raids.